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How WIZO UK has been helping to heal a nation stuck in trauma

The JC speaks to one of the therapists working with children and families in Israel

February 7, 2024 18:40
Copy of 5.2.24 Specialist animal therapy for vulnerable toddlers at a WIZO day care centre (Photo: WIZO)
A young girl from the south of Israel who was evacuated plays with animals in a pet therapy program at WIZO's youth village, which hosted displaced families. (Photo: WIZO)

ByRosa Doherty, Rosa Doherty

5 min read

Since October 7, Israel has been a nation in trauma. One of the charities which has been on the frontline of supporting some of its most vulnerable citizens is the social welfare charity WIZO, which is supported by its UK arm, WIZO UK.

Nurit Rones Rauschback, coordinator of the therapeutic team at WIZO’s Beit Hakerem school in Jerusalem, says young people are experiencing PTSD, have fallen behind in school, and there are fears that drug abuse and mental health conditions will rise in the wake of October 7.

Speaking to the JC about how the charity supports some of its service-users, Rauschback says: “You don’t have to be an expert to understand this. The event is not over. How can you treat PTSD when we’re not ‘post’ yet? We’re still living in the trauma hostages are still in Gaza, soldiers are dying every day, and there are missile attacks.”